In what could be the single biggest help to Puerto Rico as it struggles to recover from Hurricane Maria, President Donald Trump seemed to suggest yesterday that the island’s staggering $73 billion in debt would have to be wiped out:
Trump said Puerto Rico's debt will have to be wiped out.
"We're going to have to wipe that out. You're going to say goodbye to that" pic.twitter.com/vn4V8gVaDQ
— Brandon Wall (@Walldo) October 4, 2017
This would be a game-changer, to say the least, especially to those who have attempted to paint Trump as uncaring about Puerto Ricans suffering in the aftermath of the storm:
If Trump delivers a wipeout of Puerto Rico's debt AND a fix to the island, it would have a Nixon-goes-to-China feel https://t.co/xPHPsCX5SY
— Marc Caputo (@MarcACaputo) October 4, 2017
The price of Puerto Rico’s bonds are down on the news:
Puerto Rico bonds plunder as Trump says debt may need to be “wiped out." Budget chief says no US bailout https://t.co/tUtMPTiD9S @bpolitics
— Mike Dorning (@MikeDorning) October 4, 2017
As are the shares of bond insurers:
MBIA down 11%
Ambac down 5%
Assured down 5% https://t.co/nNudg7S1za— Carl Quintanilla (@carlquintanilla) October 4, 2017
In Trump’s remarks to Geraldo, he signaled out the big banks as holders of the bonds but in reality, mutual funds owned by mom-and-pop investors hold much of Puerto Rico’s debt:
Who owns Puerto Rico's mountain of debt? You do https://t.co/nx73wZXmjN
— Greg Pollowitz (@GPollowitz) October 4, 2017
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OMD Director Mick Mulvaney seemed to step back a little this am, however:
OMB director on Trump saying he will wipe out Puerto Rico's debt: "I wouldn't take it word for word with that" https://t.co/MXOMDhmyBw
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) October 4, 2017
But that genie is out of the bottle and will be hard to put back in, especially once Trump wins praise from Puerto Ricans for the move.
Even before the debt new bombshell, however, the narrative was changing. Yes, guys like Chris Hayes were infatuated with Trump throwing paper towels to the crowd:
I've watched the paper towel video at least two dozen times.
— Chris Hayes (@chrislhayes) October 3, 2017
And other reporters criticized Trump’s short trip to the island:
Trump will be spending five hours in Puerto Rico. Here's his itinerary: pic.twitter.com/r96mOjZfus
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) October 3, 2017
Here's what one Puerto Rican said to me about Trump's behaviour today: https://t.co/yQaeKlGThT pic.twitter.com/9ASzqyzcb6
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) October 4, 2017
But Trump’s visit was received positively by many:
The visuals of this trip are excellent for Trump. Even people who weren't part of the show were happy to see the president. pic.twitter.com/oVNQzQKxML
— Adrian Carrasquillo (@Carrasquillo) October 3, 2017
Trump on his visit to Puerto Rico: "From what I'm hearing it's the first time that a sitting president has done something like this.” pic.twitter.com/RVGxahmRR9
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) October 3, 2017
As for the length of Trump’s visit, compared to what? He was on Puerto Rico longer than Obama:
#POTUS44 visited #PuertoRico just once in eight years for four hours for a million dollar fund raiser. That why #POTUS45 was warmly received
— Geraldo Rivera (@GeraldoRivera) October 4, 2017
Last presidential visit to the island was Obama in 2011. It lasted 5 hours & was commemorated with a bronze statue. https://t.co/uWBMh8XLE9
— Bianca Padró Ocasio (@BiancaJoanie) October 3, 2017
And what has Hillary Clinton ever done? (Correction: This refers to Bill Clinton not traveling to Puerto Rico after Hurricane Georges in 1998(:
Asked a pal in PR abt Trump trip fallout, remarks… "(reception and grade was) so-so, but TBH he came and that's more than Clinton did" https://t.co/blDyFl6Usm
— Jorge Bonilla (@BonillaJL) October 3, 2017
Not that everything is perfect, mind you. But it’s improving:
This isn't to suggest that Trump is beloved all of a sudden or that there won't be further blowback over crass budget remarks.
— Jorge Bonilla (@BonillaJL) October 3, 2017
For example, this was much mockery of this incident yesterday but most accounts truncated the quote and left out that residents responded with a “thank you.”
.@POTUS to Puerto Rican hurricane victim: "we're going to help you out"
Resident: thank you.
P: Have a good time
R: thank u, Mr. President pic.twitter.com/RCl86oy5HV— David Begnaud (@DavidBegnaud) October 4, 2017
Here’s how the coverage looked in the papers:
Also, iconic front pages today. pic.twitter.com/pWSXA2QogY
— Bianca Padró Ocasio (@BiancaJoanie) October 4, 2017
Editor’s note: We’ve corrected a typo. It’s “Mick” Mulvaney, note Mike.
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